Turning passion into a career

If you love cafe racers, the likelihood is, you’re probably already familiar with Matteo Giovani. One of Cafe Racing’s household names is here to talk us through how he turned his passion for motorbikes into a full-time career, living life to its fullest.

Let’s start off with the why. Why bikes? Matteo says: “I bought my Honda about 8 years ago when the film ‘Millennium’ came out in Italy, featuring the protagonist riding a Honda cl350. From there, I simply had the desire to create a cafe racer”. This is a common feature with so many of us getting into cafe racers isn’t it? How many of us bought our first bike after watching Steve McQueen tearing it up on the big screen? I bet at least half!

Now, how did Matteo’s passion for bikes grow and what makes his different? Well according to the man himself, it all started in a garage with some friends between a few beers - where all great passions arise. What separates his passion from the rest is, as he puts it; “All this strictly in my small garage, 100% homemade. This is what distinguishes it from other bikes…because I did not see things like that”. With a base bike of a CB400 he set to create a brat style racer, and by no means its pretty beautiful. His admiration of Mad Max also keeps this natural obsession of customisation burning bright.

We can all share in Matteo’s infectious love of cafe racers, but how did he turn this love into a career? And how can we? Turning a passion into a vocation is no mean feat, but Matteo believes it was simply a game he became good at. He says; “Initially Instagram was a game for me, I placed the first photo taken with a phone of my bike, but soon after I found some success ... after which I decided to focus on it, taking pictures with photographers ... and the plan was successful!”. He makes it sound so easy… You’ve only got to look through his numerous images and very thoughtful content on his Instagram..

But, Instagram really can be a true catalyst for change in your life if you want to turn your passion into a career like Matteo. All it takes is a love for your craft, a whole lot of effort and a healthy serving of time. The cafe racing community is thriving at the moment and you can check this out first hand on both Matteo’s and Our respective Instagram accounts. The time to follow your dreams truly is now.

Moving forward, what does Matteo have planned? If his response to our probing is anything to go by - big things! “I created the scrambler you see on my profile (brown saddle and raw sheet tank). I'm always active to look for some offers and create a new bike ... we hope to find something else soon!”.